Levick is attempting to build support for Nigeria's effort to "find and safely return" the more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in April by terror group Boko Haram, according to its $1.2M contract.

That atrocity focused international media attention on the basic ability of president Goodluck Jonathan to control the massive oil-rich country.

Nigeria was roundly criticized for its initial reluctance to accept outside help in tracking down and recovering the children.

The BBC on June 25 ran an op-ed called "Does Nigeria Have an Image Problem?"The article ridiculed Nigeria for believing such a plea for foreign assistance to help its "clearly overwhelmed armed forces" might affect its image.

"We frantically monitor foreign opinions and we panic at the slightest hint of a negative perception of us," wrote author Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani. "We fret about the many uncomplimentary stories from our land making the rounds on international media circuits, more than about the actual negative circumstances that birth those narratives," she wrote.

Goodluck Jonathan (pictured) on June 26 broke his silence about the missing girls via an op-ed piece in the Washington Post titled "Nothing is more important than bringing home Nigeria’s missing girls."

Levick's pact calls for "assisting the government’s efforts to mobilize international support in fighting Boko Haram as part of the greater global war on terror." It is charged with "communicating president Goodluck Jonathan Administration’s past, present and future priority to foster transparency, democracy and the rule of law throughout Nigeria.

Ronald N. Levy (Jun. 30, 2014):Levick is a superb PR firm and Lanny Davis is certainly one of America's top spokesmen, perhaps the very best one, but couldn't the girls be brought home for a ransom of less than half this PR fee? Sometimes paying off a kidnapper may be a better investment than PR.

Lanny Davis did such an excellent job of defending our President during the impeachment hearings--defending both Clinton and the idea that the choice of America's voters shouldn't be defeated by pious-sounding politicians--Davis might get one Clinton or the other to go with a big airliner and bring home the girls after paying the ransom.

If there's a book in it, royalties could be more than the ransom.

It might facilitate rescue if Levick lines up a TV interview so Bok Haram's leader can tell why there's too damn much corruption in Nigerian government. There is huge oil wealthy but the poor people aren't getting it. There is a lot of hunger, starvation and death.